


Ad Arbitrium

by wonker8



Series: Pax Aeterna [2]
Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: AU, Dollhouse AU, Fusion, Gen, It's a story of a man who lost someone he loves, Khan is still in the story, M/M, Starfleet is like FBI, Violence, and the journey he makes to get him back, but this isn't a story about Khan and Kirk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-28
Updated: 2013-08-28
Packaged: 2017-12-24 21:55:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/945097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wonker8/pseuds/wonker8
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Dollhouse is a fairytale organization that sells humans to the highest bidder for whatever fantasy they desire. These humans are called 'Dolls.' Their previous memories and personalities are wiped and replaced to fulfill the fantasy to the best of their ability.</p><p>The Dollhouse is a fairytale. Everyone knows that. But with all the strange recent events, Hikaru Sulu is beginning to suspect otherwise.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ad Arbitrium

**Author's Note:**

> "Stay away from this story," I said. "You have to finish your other ones first," I said. "Shit. I finished it."
> 
> Unlike the other story, this one does not contain any spoilers. But Khan is still in this story (really lightly, though), and although there are some violence, it's really not that bad (mainly because I suck at action scenes). But this story, unlike the other story, will focus primarily on the friends that Jim left behind at Starfleet when he went into the Dollhouse.

“Hey Pavel, by any chance have you heard anything from Kirk?” Sulu asked as he walked by the younger agent.

“From Kirk? No, I haven’t.” The most adorable little wrinkle appeared on Chekov’s brows. “Is he alright? He’s not in zrouble or anything, is he?”

Sulu quickly shook his head and offered him a smile. “No, no. Nothing like that. He’s just late.” 

Which hadn’t happened since Kirk was promoted to a field officer. But before, when Kirk was still an annoying desk worker, he would spend late nights out drinking or sleeping around. It meant that he came into work late most mornings, smelling of booze, hangover medicine, and sex. When Kirk handled paperwork, it really didn’t matter. But now that Kirk was Sulu’s partner…

“I’m sure he’s just oversleeping,” Sulu said with a smile. “I’m going to call him again.”

For the thirteenth time.

Sulu smiled again before walking away. He wasn’t sure if Chekov wanted to hear the curse words that would no doubt leave his mouth if he got Kirk’s voicemail again. Once out of earshot, he took out his phone and called again. One ring. Two rings….

“ _What_?!” growled the person on the other line. Whoever it was, it was obviously not Kirk. This man’s voice was a lot lower, more… gravely. He was slightly out of breath, almost as if he had been doing a light jog. But coupled with the sound of his voice, it made more sense if he had been in a fight where he used his voice, potentially to scream.

“Erm… Is this Jim Kirk’s cellphone?” Sulu couldn’t help but to ask. Of course, it was. He couldn’t have misdialed, seeing that the number was registered in the phone since they became partners.

“And if it is?” the other person asked. He was no longer out of breath and was speaking in smooth tone of voice. 

“Can I… talk to him?”

“No.”

Sulu blinked. “You don’t understand; I need to talk to him. Can you please-”

“He can’t come to the phone. He’s… not able.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means don’t bother calling anymore. No one’s going to answer.”

Then the line went dead.

Sulu blinked as he looked at his cellphone. What… the hell?

*

“Sir, I ask that you give me permission to go to Jim Kirk’s apartment,” Sulu demanded as he politely glared Pike down.

“He didn’t show up?” Pike asked, his lips in a thin line. “This mission can’t be put on hold any longer.”

“I need to make sure my partner is okay, sir. Please reassign me.”

If there was one thing Sulu knew for certain, it was that Pike always had a soft spot when it came to Jim Kirk. Sulu really didn’t know the story behind it and it never really came up in a conversation. But he wasn’t deaf. And he had certainly heard enough rumors to come up with a theory of his own. But whatever their relationship really was didn’t matter, because as long as Pike gave the permission, Sulu was willing to turn a blind eye towards it.

“Alright,” Pike said with a sigh. “I’ll get another team on it. You take care of Jim.”

*

Sulu walked inside the apartment thanks to the landlady. But there was clear sign that no one was in the apartment (and that they haven’t been there in a while, judging by the amount of dust). Oddly enough, everything was neat and tidy (dusty but neat), almost as if Kirk cleaned everything up before whatever happened happened and Kirk disappeared. Strange. Kirk was never the clean type. He was disorganized and messy. His desk was always in a state of disarray. And don’t even get Sulu started on all their old files that he had to organize because Kirk couldn't for the life of him put 'B' after 'A.'

This stank of conspiracy and Sulu really hated conspiracies. Those were more Kirk’s department, what with the Dollhouse and everything. Coupled with the phone call from earlier, Sulu really, really didn’t like what this was implying. 

If there was one more thing that really stood out to him it was this: there was no sign of the Dollhouse files that Kirk had been working almost religiously on.

“No way...”

*

“Hikaru? Vhat… are you doing?” Chekov asked, his head tilting to the side as he looked at the Asian with a worried look.

“Hey Pavel,” Sulu greeted with a smile. But his eyes kept darting back to Kirk’s desk, where he was going through all the files. “I’m just seeing if Kirk had any leads on the case.”

“Oh, zhat makes sense. Vould you like me zo help?” The Russian walked over, smiling brightly. He picked up some of the files that Sulu had thrown to the ground and began to flip through them. “Vhat am I looking for?”

“Look for anything about the Dollhouse.”

Chekov froze. “… Hikaru?”

“I know what this looks like, but you don’t understand. All the files are gone. Doesn’t that strike you as odd, Pavel? Kirk’s suddenly gone and we can’t find any files relating to the one thing that he was obsessed about.” Sulu open the drawers and pulled out a box of condoms. Making a face, he tossed it into the trashcan.

“All of it? It’s all gone?” Chekov asked, frowning. “But how can zhat be?”

“Pavel… What if the Dollhouse really does exist?”

“Zhen Kirk…?”

“Yeah. I think so.”

*

“Zhis is crazy, Hikaru. Zhis is how Kirk vent crazy!” Chekov reminded him as he trailed after Sulu to Pike’s office. “Hikaru, please! You can’t!” 

He reached out and grabbed Sulu’s left arm, forcing the other man to stop. “Zhink! If you let people know vhat you’re doing, zhey vill give you zhe same zreatment as Jim! Not only vill zhey zhink you are crazy, but if you are right, zhen zhe Dollhouse vill come after you next! And I... I can't stand zhat zhought.”

Sulu nodded slowly. “Oh. Right,” he said. “You’re right. Jesus! I wasn’t even thinking of that! They could have come after me. Then who’ll be here to-” _to take care of you. To make sure that you’re smiling. To make sure that you’re always happy…_ “-to finish this case,” he finished lamely instead.

“So ve vill look into zhis secretly. _Vithout getting anyone else involved_ ,” Chekov emphasized. “It vill be hard, but ve can do it. Ve vill find Kirk.”

Of that Sulu had no doubts. He just wasn’t sure what state that Kirk would be in.

*

“Where do we even begin?” Sulu wondered out loud during their lunch break. They sat together in the nearby café, sharing a meal and afternoon tea. “We have no place to start. Kirk or the Dollhouse took everything. Even if we were to retrace his footsteps, we don’t even know where he got any of his data to begin with. There’s no way to chase after him.”

“Zhen ve must get creative,” Chekov argued, eating a forkful of his strawberry shortcake. “Zhere has zo be a zrail somewhere. Kirk is a genius, but he can be sloppy, if not arrogant.”

“So we just need to figure out that trail that the genius of our department left behind. You know, the same guy who has a 100% case solve rate.” Sulu nodded slowly, sipping his green tea. “Alright. That certainly sounds easy enough... So how do we do that?”

Chekov sighed and put down his fork. “I don’t know,” he mumbled. “I can’t come up vith zhis by myself, Hikaru. Help me zhink.”

“It’s just… The more I think about what we need to go against, I just feel so… overwhelmed. How the hell did Kirk handle this by himself?” Sulu stopped. 

“Hikaru?”

“He didn’t. He couldn’t have. Kirk’s a genius, but even he needs to consult with us mortals. Remember the Lazarus case? He had to talk to us. He’s a verbal processor. Needs to talk things out loud to piece together what goes through in his brain, remember?”

“But he never zalked vith us about it, because he zhought ve vill report zo Pike,” Chekov realized, his eyes lit with excitement. “So he zalked zo someone else!”

“Leonard McCoy.”

“Zhen ve start zhere!”

*

“Doctor McCoy? He hasn’t come into work for two days,” the nurse at the reception desk said with an annoyed frown. “We’re all overworked. And he decides to take a random break that he hadn’t even cleared with the supervisors. I mean, I hate the guy with his grumpy attitude and always griping about this Kirk kid, but damn, he's one of the best doctors in the whole damned hospital. How are we supposed to function with him gone? If you find him, can you punch that selfish son-of-a-bitch in the face for me?”

Dead end 1.

*

Leonard McCoy’s apartment was a mess. Almost as if a hurricane went through it and tore everything apart. It was so different from Kirk’s that Sulu couldn’t help but to smile a little. But aside from the mountain of debris, there was nothing here that pointed them in the right direction. Nothing but trash, laundry, and broken pieces of furniture. There was no Dollhouse files, just as Sulu feared. Nothing that linked back to Kirk or the Dollhouse.

Dead end 2.

*

“Find anything?” Sulu asked as he walked back into the headquarters.

Chekov shook at his head, his face pale. “Zhere’s… something else, Hikaru… I’m… scared.”

“What happened?”

“Vhen I looked up Leonard McCoy, I recovered a few files,” Chekov began. Then he halted, glancing around to make sure that they were alone. “But before I can look at any of zhem in detail, zhey… Zhey all disappeared, Hikaru. All files on Leonard McCoy disappeared.”

Sulu froze. “Disappeared? But how’s that possible? The Dollhouse’s reach can’t be that big!”

“Remember how Kirk could never zrusted us? I zhink zhat might be vhy. And how after a vhile, he just… gave up on zhe case?” 

“He never gave up, did he?” 

Chekov shook his head. “I zhink he hid and searched. Maybe in fear.”

“Which is why we can’t find any leads.” Sulu sighed deeply. “Kirk was one hell of a paranoid agent. If he decided to hide things, it could take us years to locate it.”

“Erm… Hikaru… Zhere is one more zhing…”

“What is it, Pavel?”

“Ah… Vhen I looked up zhe files… I zhink someone flagged me.”

“Flagged…?”

“Hikaru, zhey know ve looked. Zhey know it vas my ID.”

“Then they’re coming after you.”

*

“Hikaru, you don’t have to stand guard outside,” Chekov said, looking at Sulu with amusement. “Please, come in.”

Sulu shook his head. If he went in, he was going to get distracted. He gave Chekov what he hoped was an encouraging smile. “Don’t worry about it, Pavel. I’m a strong guy. I’m going to protect you.” _Both from the Dollhouse and myself._

“You can’t protect me if you are zired,” Chekov pointed out. His lips were curved down in disapprovingly. “Hikaru, just come in.”

“Nope,” Sulu said. “It’s going to be fine, Pavel. I’m going to protect you.”

*

2:46 am. Absolutely nothing was wrong. 

Sulu was starting to get tired. A yawn left his mouth and he rubbed at his eyes with annoyance. He had to stay up, dammit. He had to be up. He had to protect Chekov! So if only his eyes would just stay awake…

*

He jerked awake at someone’s hand on his shoulder. Within seconds, he had his gun drawn and pointing it at the old woman.

“Oh! I’m so sorry!” he exclaimed as he quickly put the gun away. “I thought you were someone else.”

“Who do you think you need to point guns at?!” the old woman exclaimed before walking away, muttering about dangerous minds of kids these days.

 _I can’t believe I fell asleep. I’m not a rookie._ Sulu chastised himself before knocking on Chekov’s door. He was slightly amused at the old woman's side comments, but there was something more important. He sort of had to use the bathroom...

But despite his knocking, there was no answer.

Odd…

Sulu knocked a little louder this time. Perhaps Chekov was still sleeping? Sulu wasn't sure what kind of sleeper Chekov was. Perhaps he was a heavy sleeper? And maybe he just needed a little encouragement to wake up. When there still wasn’t an answer, Sulu kicked at the door and started to pound. His mind was wrought with thoughts as they chased one another with a scenario that was worse than the last. 

“Hey! Keep it down!” one of the neighbors shouted.

But how could Sulu keep it down? If Chekov was gone because he fell asleep…

Finally, he took out his gun and shot at the door. He could hear the commotions of all the other neighbors, but there wasn’t time to calm them down. If Chekov was-

“Pavel!” he shouted as he burst into the room. 

No one replied.

*

“So what are you saying?” Pike asked when Sulu reported exactly what happened.

“I’m saying that there are too many coincidences for this to not be related. Sir, I believe Chekov was taken by someone from the Dollhouse.”

“Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds? The Dollhouse doesn’t exist.” Pike sighed heavily. “Why are all of you chasing after this fairytale?”

“Sir, Kirk is gone. Kirk’s friend McCoy is gone. _Pavel_ is gone. All of them disappeared after some kind of contact with the Dollhouse. You can’t seriously be telling me that this isn’t related?”

“I’m only going to say this once, Agent. Drop this.”

Sulu’s lips thinned into a line. Then with a slow nod, he walked out.

*

Sulu walked slowly back to his cubical, going over everything he knew. There was little to nothing. All he remembered was…

The map.

Kirk was obsessed over finding the Dollhouse's location by pouring over a map that time during lunch (Sulu remembered that Chekov had been stressed that day and tried to feed Kirk). He had to find the map. Kirk most likely marked it somehow. He probably made notes of where he thought the Dollhouse could potentially be. And right now, the best way to find Chekov was by finding the Dollhouse.

*

He returned to Leonard McCoy’s apartment. It was the only thing he could think of. Kirk’s apartment currently was too clean. The people at the Dollhouse must have gotten rid of anything at his place when they took Kirk. On the other hand… The reason that the Doctor McCoy was so dirty… Wasn’t that because Kirk had been spending his time there? Because McCoy didn’t sound like someone who was at home enough to be messy. Therefore, it only stood to reason that it must have been Kirk who had been there.

Then where was Kirk now? And where was his friend doctor?

He found three maps buried under old Chinese takeout: a city map, a sewage map, and an electric grid of the city. Unfortunately for him, absolutely nothing was marked and he couldn’t rely on Chekov’s brain anymore. He had to figure out exactly what it was that Kirk had been able to see on these three maps by himself as quickly as he could.

*

Twenty minutes in, Sulu’s hair was a mess and McCoy’s apartment was actually clean. It wasn’t his fault, really. He had never been good at puzzles. He had always preferred going outside and getting the mission done instead (his parents had often considered him a failure because of this). And when he was told to stare at a piece of paper for any longer than a few minutes it took to complete a report, he became antsy and fidgety.

This wasn’t working.

He knew what was at stake. He knew that Chekov was waiting for him to figure this out and save him. He knew, dammit. _He knew_. But this wasn’t his area of expertise. Chekov was a genius at pattern recognition. And Kirk always took care of the cerebral part of the mission. Always. Sulu always chased down the bad guys and got involved in gun fights. He was the action man. They figured out the puzzle and he took care of any loose ends. He didn’t even know where to start with this! 

Sulu was a porcupine who fell into the rapids, and the waterfall was quickly approaching. He had to figure something out. If the maps couldn’t tell him anything, then he was going to have to find another way to locate the Dollhouse. 

Every minute he wasted was a minute that Chekov might not have. He had to hurry. But all of his thoughts just went around and around in circles, and he just couldn’t think of how to make sense of it! Where does he begin? How should he begin? Just how did Kirk figure this all out? Why did Kirk even get involved in the Dollhouse in the first place? If that hadn't happened, Chekov would still be here, Kirk would still be here, and the three of them would be laughing in the break lounge at some stupid nothing!

But that kind of thought wasn't going to help anybody. Sulu had to calm down and think this through. So what did he know? He knew that Kirk first began looking into the Dollhouse because of an anonymous tip. He knew that Kirk worked on this every chance he got when he wasn’t working on an actual case. He knew that Kirk must have found something, because the last time he saw him, Kirk was decked out in weapons and armor almost as if he was going off to war…

Dear gods, did Kirk try a one-man assault on the Dollhouse…?

_Damn it, Hikaru! Stop being so stupid and just focus! You need to figure this out to save Pavel. What am I missing? Why the hell am I the stupid one of the group? Why can’t I think to save the one I love? Damn, damn, damn! Think! Think!_

“Montgomery Scott.”

Sulu paused. He remembered that day quite clearly. They had returned, him and Kirk, from a successful mission. And Montgomery Scott with a serious expression had come to talk to them. At the time, Sulu hadn’t paid much attention to it, but that was suspicious. What would Scott have to talk to Kirk about?

It was a flimsy excuse, but Sulu had little to nothing left. He had to follow this. The maps weren’t taking him anywhere.

*

Montgomery Scott lived alone in an apartment near a deli. The only reason Sulu remembered that was because he had many a memory of Kirk informing him that Scott loved sandwiches because they had to often bribe the techie to help them out in a case or two. Armed with that knowledge and a sandwich, Sulu walked up to the door and knocked.

“Aye?” asked the person on the other side, “What is it?”

“Hey Scott. Remember me? I’m Sulu, Kirk’s partner. Do you mind if we talk a bit?”

The door opened a crack and Scott peeked through. “I do mind terribly,” he said. “Anything you want to say, you say it there.”

“Look, I’m just really worried. Kirk wasn’t at work today.” Sulu did not miss the way Scott’s face darkened at that. “And I get a feeling that you know something. So if we could just go inside of your place and talk _privately_.”

“What would I know, laddie?” Scott asked. But Sulu didn’t miss the way Scott’s eyes scuttled from one side to the other, the way his face paled, and the way Scott began to perspire. Honest, Sulu thought. That at least meant that Scott wasn’t going to be lying to him any time soon.

Unless he was a doll, programmed to drop other people's guards before he killed them.

“I don’t know, but I remember you and Kirk were close. You were his confident for the Dollhouse case, weren’t you? He talked to you.”

“I don’t know anything!” Scott exclaimed.

He tried to shut the door, but Sulu quickly stuck his foot in it. “You obviously do!” Sulu snarled. “And I’ve come too far to leave with nothing!”

“I don’t know anything!” the Scott repeated, pushing the door so that it couldn’t be open any wider. 

Sulu pushed back, trying to get the door open. In the struggle, he dropped the sandwich he originally brought for a bribe, but he could care less. He wasn’t going to let this lead walk away. No. Not when Chekov could be in danger… “Look, I’m not going to hurt you!”

“That’s not very convincing!”

“I need to know everything you know about the Dollhouse!”

“I don’t know anything!”

“Then why are you running away?”

“I don’t know anything!”

Sulu sighed. This was starting to get old. “They took Chekov! I just want him back!”

There was a brief pause before the door was opened fully and Scott was standing there, looking at Sulu with wide eyes. “The wee laddie was taken?” he asked.

The Asian nodded. “Yes. So if you’ll just share with me what Kirk told you, I can be out of your hair.”

*

They ended up sharing everything they knew. And Sulu realized for the first time how little he knew about the Dollhouse. And he realized for the first time exactly what Kirk must have done. Why the Dollhouse people must be so nervous about Chekov triggering a flag. He sometimes really hated how smart Kirk was.

“He went by himself, didn’t he? To challenge them in a one-man war?”

Scott nodded solemnly. “He looked sad. The last time we saw him? Like he knew he wasn’t going to be coming back. Like he was weighed down with an infinite burden… One man shouldn’t have to face that by himself”

“You know what I found in Doctor McCoy’s apartment? It was three maps. You don’t suppose those will help us sneak into the Dollhouse, do you?”

“I don’t see how. The Dollhouse isn’t on-grid anywhere. If Kirk found a way down there, it won’t be how we get down. Not to mention it's probably been fortified by now.”

“But they have to get rid of their waste. The sewage system will lead us there.”

The two shared a look and understanding. Then without Sulu prompting further, Scott declared, “We’re going to need some battery-operated drills, bombs, and rope… Lots and lots of rope.”

*

“Ugh. What is that smell?” Sulu grumbled. 

The two were currently in the sewage system, using the map to guide them towards the Dollhouse. Because no matter whether the sewage actually led them there or not, they had no doubts that the Dollhouse would somehow be connected.

“Well, all the waste in San Francisco comes down here,” Scott pointed out grimly. “Stands to reason that it’d stink.”

It wasn’t that Sulu didn’t know that. It was just… This sort of wasn’t the image he had in mind of coming down to rescue Chekov was all. Sure, he wasn't exactly thinking he was going to be a knight in shinning armor (how old did you think he was? Five?), but he was hoping something... a little more James Bond. Or maybe Bruce Lee. Smelling and covered with shit? So not cool.

“Scott, right there!” Sulu tapped on the wall in front of them. “Theoretically speaking, if we drill here and set the bombs here-”

“We’ll be able to walk into the Dollhouse.”

 _Smelling like shit,_ Sulu added mentally. But he just nodded. “Alright. Let’s do this.”

*

The explosion was small enough to not harm them from two tunnels down. But it still shook the tunnels, staining their clothes with extra lovely waste. Sulu grimaced but there was no time to focus on that. The way into the Dollhouse was open before them.

Sulu met Scott’s eyes and they both drew forth their guns. Heh. How ironic. The last time Kirk walked in there, he was a walking armory. And now the two of them were going to walk in there armed with two handguns, limited supply of magazines, and few explosives. In the back of their minds, they had an inkling of feeling that they might not be able to get out alive. 

But at least they would be able to bring down the entire house with the bombs.

*

They used the ropes to lower themselves into the hole they had blown and landed in a strange room with a chair in the center. It was broken into pieces and destroyed, almost as if someone had taken their anger out on it (Sulu noted that there were still bullets embedded in it. Perhaps someone was tied to the chair when someone else shot it...?). Other pieces of advanced machinery were littered all around the room, broken and destroyed. 

“What is that?” Sulu couldn’t help but to wonder out loud.

“Advanced Dollhouse machinery,” Scott mumbled as he poked at them. “If only we had the time to study them…”

“No time. We need to set up the bombs and see where Chekov is.”

“If he’s still alive…” Scott muttered. Then he shook his head. “You’re right. Let’s go.”

*

The two walked slowly, back to back. This whole place was built with strange fengshui. Meant for bringing good luck and calming people down. Except a few things had been changed. Moved to the wrong place… Someone with as much money as the Dollhouse couldn’t have made a mistake like this. No, if they had spent enough money to build this beautiful place, then they would have made sure that the fengshui was correct. Something was wrong.

“Scott…” Sulu began.

And then they were under attack.

Bullets were being fired at all sides, and Sulu just barely managed to drag Scott between a wall and a couch. 

“Why are they firing at us?!” Scott exclaimed, covering his head with his arms. How very like a techie. Sulu was suddenly hit with the realization that he was the only one trained for this type of situation between them. If he made a move, Scott wouldn't be able to back him up. At least not like Kirk used to.

“Because we put a hole in their wall, remember?” Sulu grumbled. He peeked out to fire, but found that there was no way to fire when the volley of bullets kept raining down. He quickly pulled back, not a single bullet fired. “Jesus, they’re crazy scary!”

“We’re going to die,” Scott moaned. “And I didn’t even get to play with the technology!”

“Shut up! I’m not dying here. I haven’t… _I haven’t told Pavel I like him yet!_ ” Sulu dug into his pocket and pulled out an explosive. “I just need to-”

A gun cocked right next to his head. “Drop it,” growled a voice too low to be a woman’s. Despite the simplistic two words, Sulu thought he heard traces of a Southern accent.

And right behind Scott, a woman stood, holding up her own gun against Scott’s head. “Drop it or he dies.”

“Laddie…” Scott mumbled, staring at Sulu with pleading eyes. 

“Fine!”

*

The two were taken into what Sulu supposed was a holding cell. Any and all forms of weaponry were taken and they were handcuffed to the chairs. It was very much like a movie interrogation scene. He figured that one of the walls was actually a one-way mirror and that they were watching the two. Sulu really didn't want to know what this room was used for normally. And why they had one at a Dollhouse. Perhaps for a client who wanted to have a kinky jail sex...?

“Well, this could be worse,” Scott said.

“How?” Sulu demanded. “We’re locked up by the same people we were trying to take down. We have no weapons. No bargaining chips. And to make everything worse, we smell like shit!”

Before Scott could reply, the doors opened and a striking man walked in. He was tall and wiry, elegant was the first word that popped into Sulu’s head. His black haired was sleeked back, an air of professionalism that Sulu expected from the head of the Dollhouse. He was dressed in all black with a long trench coat that added to the effect of badassery that Sulu couldn’t help but to envy. If Sulu could pull off things like that, then he would be able to sweep Chekov off his feet without any problem.

“What do you want?” the man asked, his voice low and familiar.

“You!” Sulu shouted. “You’re the asshole who answered Kirk’s phone!”

The man just raised a calm brow. “So I was correct,” he said, voice grim. “His phone was being watched.”

“You killed him! You killed him and took Chekov! Did you really think that we wouldn’t notice?”

“Killed? Take? You’re the ones who blew up a hole in our wall and walked around here armed with explosives. If anyone should be offended, it's us. Did you really think you could destroy us with two hand guns and few explosives?”

“We have backup coming right behind us. They’ll be here any minute and swarm you,” Sulu growled. "We're just the first of many."

“Backup? We do?” Scott asked, ruining the effect.

The man snorted and shook his head. “You’re not even coordinated. What kind of Dollhouse operatives are you?”

Sulu blinked. Wait… What?

Then the door slammed open and Jim Kirk ran into the room, seething with anger. Except for the pale face and dark bags under his eyes, he looked pretty well. Not a single injury or harm seemed to have befallen him. Kirk wore his usual black jeans and a sweater that Sulu had never seen before. And judging by the state of his hair, he looked as if he had just been woken up.

“Kirk?” he whispered.

“Kirk!” Scott exclaimed.

“Khan!” Kirk roared.

*

“So… your one-man war against the entire Dollhouse was a success,” Sulu said slowly. “And… you have this entire place under your command.”

“And your sandwiches are still crappy,” Scott added, nodding serenely as he took another bite of the sandwich that was given to him. Apparently he thought better on a full stomach and made the demand to be fed as soon as everyone realized that Sulu and Scott didn't work for the Dollhouse.

“I made that,” the woman said (Uhura, Kirk had introduced them earlier), crossing her arms and glaring at him.

Scott’s face flushed red and he froze. “Erm… I… I mean, it’s quite delicious… Ehehehe....”

“It’s… a little more complicated than that,” Kirk admitted with a sheepish chuckle, ignoring the little talk between Scott and Uhura. “But yeah. That’s pretty much it.”

“Oh, okay…” Sulu said, nodding. “I mean. Sure. Why not? Because that makes so much sense. You single-handedly brought down the Dollhouse and then got together with the one who brought you here. Sure why not?”

Kirk’s face flushed a little and the black-haired man from before (named Khan, Sulu learned) held Kirk’s hand proudly like a smug cat. While Kirk was staggering to form words, Khan just simply brought their mouths together for a kiss as if to demonstrate their relationship to Sulu. Really? Kirk went away to fight in a war and got the happy ending? Maybe that was a good sign for Sulu. Perhaps after all of this, he and Chekov... 

Oh gods. Chekov.

“Then where’s Pavel?” he demanded. “You guys took him right? To try and cover up your tracks or something?”

Kirk’s eyebrows furrowed. “What? Chekov? Took? … Sulu, what happened to Chekov?”

All the lights flickered and realization flashed on Kirk’s face. “Khan,” he said. But already Khan was moving, picking up his weapons. Uhura just pulled out her gun, holding it like someone who had only recently been trained with a weapon. Scott and Sulu exchanged a worried look.

“Kirk! Khan!” said a man as he opened the door and walked in. Although black-haired, he held himself in a strict manner. Military, Sulu decided. Right behind him was another man that Sulu recognized from being around Kirk long enough. It was Doctor McCoy. The man with the Southern accent. Huh. So he was here, too. That made a lot of sense as to why the doctor was nowhere to be found. But wait. If he was here, then why wasn't he by Kirk's side? They were best friends, weren't they? Then why didn't Kirk tell them about McCoy at all in their initial explanation of the Dollhouse?

“What’s going on?” Sulu asked.

“Think of it this way: we’re prepared for war. Why do you think?”

“This isn’t the only Dollhouse,” Scott concluded. “You’re being attacked by the other Dollhouses.”

“That’s why you didn’t contact us,” Sulu realized. “Because you didn’t want us to get sucked in.”

“But that’s not going to mean much if Chekov’s been taken,” Kirk growled. “I’m sorry.”

“Give us weapons. We’re going to fight with you.”

There was a pause as every eyes landed on Kirk, waiting for the decision. Kirk glanced around, looking at all of them before sighing heavily. “I sometimes hate all of you,” he mumbled. Then more loudly, “Give them weapons. Let’s get going.”

*

Sulu walked slowly behind Kirk as the two walked through the silent and dark hallways. Kirk had assured him that the rest of the group was searching everywhere else, so the chances of them meeting anyone were slim. It was good, because Sulu really wanted to have a small chat with his partner.

“You were right,” he said finally. “The Dollhouse exists.”

“Uh… yeah. Something like that,” Kirk said, distracted. He walked forward, glancing around carefully. “What’s bothering you?”

“It’s just… we treated you like crazy,” Sulu said, pointing his gun around. “And you’ve never been angry at us.”

“There wasn’t any proof, Sulu. I sounded crazy. C’mon man, I’m sure you didn’t come all the way here just so we can talk about feelings. What’s really bothering you?”

“I’m useless, Kirk. Everything I’ve done, every step of the journey… It was because I’ve been helped by those nearby. By myself, I can’t solve any case nor can I even track you down to here. I can't do anything by myself.”

Kirk paused in glancing around to round on Sulu with a frown. “What are you talking about, Sulu? Of course you’re important. You’re my partner. You keep me grounded. You're the action man. Whenever there's a fight, you're always the first to jump in. You're always ready to try a new stunt or go after dangerous criminal, no matter how risky the situation is. Dude, you're awesome.”

“But you don’t need me. You have them for any and all roles I might have previously played. They keep you grounded. And you make sure they don’t spiral out of control with their need for revenge... Back when we were working together, I really believed that we were going to last. You and me on the field and Pavel backing us up at the desk. The trio forever. But those days are gone, aren’t they?”

“Aw come on, man. Once this fight is over, we’ll go back to the good old days. All we have to do is win this war,” Kirk smiled brightly as he always did. But Sulu wasn’t sure at all. He just couldn't be as confident as Kirk was on this subject matter. Because he understood. Because he finally got it.

“Wars don’t work like that,” he said softly.

Kirk’s eyes softened and his smile lost its charm. He glanced down at the ground with a heavy sigh. “I’m not going to turn a blind eye to them, Sulu. Not after all they’ve suffered. If they’ll have me, I’m-”

They heard the electric shock before Sulu realized what was happening. Kirk fell forward, face meeting the ground in a loud smack that had to hurt. Not that it mattered, because he was already out like a light. And Sulu was left staring dumbfounded at the intruder. The lights overhead flickered some more, but there was no doubt on who it was was standing in front of Sulu.

“No…” he found himself whispering.

“Hello Hikaru,” replied Chekov with a bright and cheerful smile. He zapped the taser in his hand, letting Sulu know exactly how he took down Kirk. “Good night, Hikaru.”

Chekov moved with swiftness that matched his lithe body. He dashed forth, lunging with the taser, and Sulu barely dodged it. But he wasn’t a trained Starfleet agent for nothing. And unlike Chekov, whose only real matches were on the training mat, Sulu had actual hand-to-hand combat before. He grabbed Chekov’s hand and twisted it behind the Russian, using it to force him to the ground.

“You underestimated me, Pavel,” he said. Then paused. “Wait, no. Pavel, what are you doing?”

Instead of answering, Chekov spun his legs, using his entire body to throw Sulu off to the side. Then tossing the taser to the side, he picked up Kirk’s fallen gun and trained it at Sulu exactly the same time Sulu trained his own gun at him.

“You’re not going zo shoot,” Chekov declared. “You can't shoot me.”

“You sure you want to bet your life on that?” Sulu asked. But they both knew that he wouldn’t fire. Just as they both knew that Chekov couldn’t fire either. “What are you doing, Pavel? You… After they took you, what happened? Are you alright?”

“You’re asking zhe man vho has a gun aimed at your head if he’s alright?” Chekov asked, chuckling lightly. If the situation wasn’t what it was, Sulu would have marveled at the beautiful smile. “I wasn’t zaken, Hikaru. I left.”

“But… why?”

“I… vanted zo spare you from zhis. But zhe invaders must be zerminated.”

“Invaders…?”

“Kirk did vell zo get zhis far, but zhe rebellion ends here. Zhe higher ups vants zhem all eliminated. So zhey sent me in: Zhe Executioner.”

Sulu shook his head, laughing a little at the ridiculousness of this. “No, that can’t be. You’re Pavel Chekov. You’re the cute desk agent that I’ve had a crush on forever. You’re not… You can’t be connected to the Dollhouse. You can barely even fire a gun! What the hell?!”

Chekov’s face was blank for a second before he tilted his head, eyes sparkling with hope. “You… have a crush on me…?”

“What? Did I say that out loud?”

The Russian nodded, a blush appearing on his face. “Vhua… Saying something like zhat isn’t going zo change my mind! I need zo shut zhem down! Zhe… Zhe Dollhouse has zo keep going. You don’t understand. If I don’t-”

“If you do not drop your gun, I will spray your brain on the wall,” came the calm voice of Khan.

Chekov’s jaw tightened but he knew a losing battle when he saw it. He slowly lowered the gun to the ground and Sulu quickly took it. Their eyes met, Chekov’s brown eyes pleading at him to do something. But what? Why did Chekov look so worried? They were just going to take Chekov, handcuff him like they did Scott and Sulu, and just ask him some questions. And when they realized what a mistake all of this was, then they were going to let Chekov go.

“You’re a doll, aren’t you?” Khan asked, the tips of his lips curling up into a smile. He walked forward towards them and then stopped when he spotted Kirk’s fallen form on the ground. The smile froze on his face, and his eyes darkened. 

“Wait! Khan, I promise Kirk’s okay,” Sulu said quickly. 

But Khan was beyond listening. He marched forward and pushed Sulu down, grabbing Chekov by his neck. He held the other gun against the Russian's temple, pressing it so hard that Chekov whimpered “You have some nerve, _doll_ ,” he hissed, squeezing his hand around Chekov's neck hard. Sulu could hear Chekov gasp for breath, could feel the desperation even without having to see it. He came this far in order to save Chekov, in order to find him and to protect him.

He wasn’t going to let Khan destroy that.

Sulu acted without thinking. He slammed his gun down at Khan’s head, knocking him unconscious. Then he went to Chekov’s side, prying Khan’s fingers off, and he made sure that Chekov was breathing and okay. But he also made sure that all the guns were far away enough that Chekov wouldn't get a bad idea of trying to use it against anyone here.

“Vhy?” the Russian asked, looking at Sulu with watery eyes. “I zried zo kill you.”

“I told you. I love you.”

“You never said zhat,” Chekov protested, a small smile on his face. “So you’ll help me. You’re going zo help me bring down Kirk’s rebellion.”

“What? No! Pavel, are you crazy? These are good people. They were held here by the Dollhouse. Kirk helped them. We can’t go back and undo everything he’s fought for!”

“Don’t you get it, Hikaru? If I don’t succeed, zhey vill keep sending more and more agents. Zhey vill kill everyone here!”

“Then I think we better have a talk,” remarked one Kirk. He slowly got up, hissing at the way his muscles must be protesting. He glanced at the two of them with his too blue eyes. “And you’re going to tell us everything you know.”

*

They put Chekov in the same room that Sulu and Scott was set before, handcuffed to the chair. Sulu wasn’t allowed in the room. Instead, he was forced to stand and watch the interrogation from the glass on the other room alongside Scott and a man named Spock. Currently, it was just Kirk in the other room with Chekov, both speaking calmly.

“How long?” Kirk asked, all professional and without even a hint of his usual charming smiles.

“For always,” Chekov admitted, eyes ashamed. “Well… Not always, but close enough.”

“Do you know who they’ll send next?”

Chekov shook his head. “No. I only know zhat zhere are many of us vho can be sent. But I do not know zhem.”

“And what are you?”

“… A doll,” Chekov admitted softly. “I know zhat much. Zhey zold me vhen zhey called me in zo give me zhis mission.”

Sulu felt the back of his neck arch up in anger. A doll? Someone took innocent little Chekov and turned him into a _godforsaken doll_?! Scott placed a hand on Sulu’s shoulder and for a brief second the Asian thought it was to console him. Then Scott opened his mouth and Sulu realized that no, it was much worse.

“If the wee laddie is a doll… then, in order to free him, don’t we need to erase his present mind to return him to normal?”

All of a sudden, it was as if the air in his lung crystallized. Sulu couldn’t breathe. Of course. Scott was right. If Chekov was a doll, then there was nothing else to do but to free him from the control. But didn’t that also mean that their relationship would disappear? That the actual Chekov wouldn't remember that they liked each other? That Chekov didn’t really love him, because this Chekov now was just a fake?

“Affirmative,” Spock said. “Mr. Scott is correct in his assumption.”

Oh gods. Then in order to free Chekov, he was going to have to forget Sulu forever? He was going to lose Chekov and become a man who didn’t even matter to the Russian? Sulu forced himself to breathe. No. It was okay. Chekov’s freedom came first. Then they would work together to build up their relationship again. Slowly. Sulu could do this. He had to. Because he sure as hell didn't want Chekov to live as a doll, even if it meant losing the Russian forever.

“Unfortunately, Mr. Kirk has destroyed the chair, which allows for us to imprint people. Mr. Chekov will have to be a doll until we can get to another Dollhouse.”

Sulu blinked. Scott smiled but it looked uncertain. Like he wasn’t sure if that was really the best thing to do. But did it matter? Sulu had time with Chekov. And as long as they didn’t go after any more Dollhouses… No. What was he thinking? Chekov had to go back. He had to be freed from the mind control.

“Hey Chekov… By any chance, do you know where the Dollhouse Headquarter is?” Kirk’s voice caught their attention and brought them back to the interrogation. The headquarter? Were they going to skip going after other Dollhouses and go straight for the top brass? Cut the snake off at its head, if you will?

There was a thick silence in the room. Then Chekov ducked his head, biting his lips uncomfortably. Sulu felt his heart go out to him and wished that there was a better way to find things out than this. That there was something he could do.

“Yes,” Chekov said, nodding slowly. “But you vill not like zhe answer.”

“If I asked, could you become our lead to help us get into the base?” Kirk continued.

Chekov nodded, but his usual enthusiasm wasn’t there. He looked defeated, tired. Almost scared. “But Kirk…”

“It’s Starfleet, isn’t it? Starfleet is running all of the Dollhouses in the world.”

Sulu froze. He and Scott shared a look. _What_?!

After a beat of paused, Chekov nodded. “Yes. How did you…?”

Kirk just smiled, shaking his head and chuckling as if he couldn’t quite believe it. Sulu wasn’t sure he even understood what just happened. 

“Then it is as Khan predicted,” Spock said softly. Sulu and Scott spared him a glance before returning to the interrogation.

“Kirk, von’t you please let the Dollhouse… Starfleet vin? If not, everyone here vill die.”

“… Chekov, if I do, what would Starfleet do to the people here? Wouldn’t they just turn everyone who knows about this into dolls? Turn them back into slaves after coming so close? Destroy what little pride these people have-”

“Zhey von’t even remember being dolls! Zhey vill go zo sleep and awake vhen zhe zerm is done!” Chekov protested.

Kirk’s eyes darkened. “That doesn’t make it right. Chekov, I promise I’ll return you too. But I need to bring down Starfleet first. Then the rest of the Dollhouses will fall afterwards.”

“It is hopeless, Kirk! Zhere is no vay ve can vin against Starfleet! Listen zo yourself! It is impossible!”

Then Kirk smiled and all of a sudden, Sulu couldn’t help but to feel like it was going to be okay. That things were going to work out. Even if it meant that they were all going to be marching into battle, into a war that they hadn’t even signed up for (because this was a war and Sulu now a part of it), he felt that they were going to be okay. That they were really going to make it through the fight. And one day in a far distant future, Sulu, Kirk, and Chekov would share another moment like they used to. That they would all be friends again.

“Aw Chekov, you know me better than that. I don’t believe in a no-win scenario.”

And Sulu had hope.


End file.
